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The Agiad dynasty was one of the two royal families of
Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...
, a powerful
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
of
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. The Agiads were seniors to the other royal house, the Eurypontids, with whom they had an enduring rivalry. Their hypothetical founder was Agis I, possibly the first king of Sparta at the end of the 10th century, who gave his name to the dynasty. The last Agiad king was Agesipolis III, deposed by the Eurypontid Lycurgus in 215 BC. Their most famous member was probably
Leonidas I Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles. Leonidas I was son of King ...
, known for his heroic death at the
battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label= Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Las ...
in 480 BC.


History

In order to explain the peculiarity of the Spartan two kings, the Spartans elaborated a legend saying that Aristodemos—the first king of Sparta—had twins, Eurysthenes and Prokles. Since the Spartans did not know who was born first, they opted for a
diarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office o ...
, a college of two kings with the same power; Eurysthenes being the first Agiad, Prokles the first Eurypontid.Hard, ''Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology'', p. 291. Modern scholars consider instead Agis I and Eurypon to be the founders of each dynasty, as they give their name to their descendants, not the mythical twins. The two dynasties were however not related until the
Hellenistic era In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
and the Eurypontids reached royal status much later than the Agiads. As a result, in order to balance the two royal lines, several names were inserted in the list of Eurypontid kings, such as
Soos Soos or SOOS may refer to: People Surname * Frank Soos, American short story writer * Ricky Soos, English retired middle-distance runner * Rozalia Șooș, Romanian former handballer Places * Soos, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * So ...
(meaning "stability"), Prytanis and Eunomos (said to have ruled at the same time as Lycurgus). Thus, while the Agiads might have ruled from the end of the 10th century, the Eurypontids only received the kingship in the beginning of the 8th century at the earliest. It is probable that the two dynasties came to rule jointly under the kings Archelaos (Agiad) and Charillos (Eurypontid) in the 8th century, as a result of the
synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; grc, συνοικισμóς, ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically the word means "dwelling toge ...
that created the polis of Sparta. The city was composed of five villages ( Pitana, Mesoa, Limnai, Kynosoura, Amyklai), the latter of which merged with the other four after the initial synoecism. The Agiads had their burial ground located in Pitana, while the Eurypontids were in Limnai, which suggest that the dual monarchy was created when the four villages merged. Archelaus and Charilaus are the first kings of Sparta that are considered together in ancient sources: following the
oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The wor ...
of
Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracl ...
, they destroyed and conquered Aigys, in the northwest of Sparta. The connection of the Spartan kings with Herakles likely dates of the same period, which also witnessed the construction of the Menelaion, a heroon to
Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of t ...
. The genealogies given by the Greek writers
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...
and Pausanias remain highly suspect before the 5th century, as it is not conceivably believable to have 16 direct successions (from father to son) from Eurystenes and Prokles. A lot of successions must have been collateral, especially when considering that of the 26 successions that took place after 491, only 14 were from father to son. Moreover, ancient chronologies produce an average length of 40 years per reign, which is far too long and a consequence of the descent from Herakles myth. Paul Cartledge suggest an average length of 30 years per generation, thus giving a regnal date of c. 930–900 for Agis I, founder of the Agiads. These dates relate well with the archaeological evidence.


Members

''Spartan kings are shown in bold, all dates BC.'' * Eurysthenes, elder twin son of Aristodemus. He was invented by the Spartans in order to push back the date of the Dorian conquest of Laconia, as well as to explain the origin of the Spartan diarchy. * Lathria, wife of Eurystenes, daughter of Thersander, another Heraclid, and twin sister of Anaxandra, the wife of Prokles, the twin brother of her husband. * Agis I, allegedly son of Eurysthenes and eponym of the Agiad dynasty. Some modern historians consider he could have been the first historical king of Sparta, with a reign dating from c.930–c.900.Forrest, ''History of Sparta'', p. 21. * Echestratus, allegedly son of Agis I, with a reign perhaps dated from the beginning of the 9th century, c.900–c.870. * Lycurgus, mythical reformer of Sparta. He is found as the son of Agis I, brother of Echestratus and regent for his nephew Labotas in Herodotus. Modern scholars thinks Herodotus reproduced an attempt from the Agiads to poach him from the Eurypontids. * Labotas, allegedly son of Echestratus, with a reign hypothetically dated from c.870–c.840. *
Doryssus Doryssus or Dorissus or Doriagus ( el, Δόρυσσος) was a king of ancient Sparta, who reigned for 29 years. Pausanias identified him as the son of Labotas or Leobotes and the father of Agesilaus I. He was killed in battle between the Spartans ...
, allegedly son of Labotas, with a reign hypothetically dated from c.840–c.815. * Agesilaus I, allegedly son of Doryssus, with a reign hypothetically dated from c.815–c.785.Cartledge, ''Agesilaos'', p. 22. * Archelaus, allegedly son of Agesilaus I, with a reign hypothetically dated from c.785–c.760. He was perhaps the first Agiad king to reign alongside an Eurypontid ( Charilaus). * Teleclus, allegedly son of Archelaus, king perhaps dated from c. 760–c.740. He was reputedly murdered by Messenians. * Alcmenes, allegedly son of Agesilaus I, with a reign possibly dated from c.740–c.700. * Polydorus, allegedly son of Alcmenes, king in the first half of the 7th century. He was described as a revolutionary king, pushing for a land-reform, but was murdered by an opponent named Polemarchus. * Eurycrates, allegedly son of Polydorus, with a reign possibly dated from c.665–c.640. * Anaxander, allegedly son of Eurycrates, with a reign possibly dated from c.640–c.615. * Leandris, wife of Anaxander and mother of Eurycratidas. * Eurycratides, son of Eurycratides, king from c.615 to c.590. * Leon, son of Eurycratides, king from c.590 to c.560. * Anaxandridas II, son of Leon, king from c.560 to 524. He was married to his niece, but as he remained sonless, he married a second time. From his second wife, he had Cleomenes I; then he returned to his first wife and had three sons in quick succession: Dorieus, Leonidas I and Cleombrotus, the latter two perhaps as twins. * Cleomenes I, first son of Anaxandridas II, king from 524 to 490. He engineered the deposition of the Eurypontid Damaratus in 491, for which he was sent into exile. He was recalled soon after, but was possibly murdered by his half-brother Leonidas I. * Dorieus, second son of Anaxandridas II. He challenged the claim of his half-brother Cleomenes I when their father died. Refusing to be ruled by him, he moved to colonial ventures in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, where he died c.510. *
Leonidas I Leonidas I (; grc-gre, Λεωνίδας; died 19 September 480 BC) was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles. Leonidas I was son of King ...
, third son of Anaxandridas II, king from 490 to 480. He famously died in the
battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label= Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Las ...
. * Cleombrotus, fourth son of Anaxandridas II, died in 479. He was regent for Pleistarchus in 480, and died just before the battle of Plataea in 479. * Gorgo, daughter of Cleomenes I, she married her uncle Leonidas I. Mother of Pleistarchus. * Alkathoa, wife of Cleombrotus, mother of Pausanias and Nicomedes. * Euryanax, son of Dorieus, perhaps illegitimate. He fought at the battle of Plataea. * Pleistarchus, son of Leonidas and Gordo, king between 480 and 459. * Pausanias "the Regent", first son of Cleombrotus and Alkathoa, regent of his nephew Pleistarchus in 479. Although he won the battle of Plataea, he was suspected of Medism and executed by the
ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''ép ...
. * Nicomedes, second son of Cleombrotus and Alkathoa, regent of his nephew Pleistoanax in 458. He won the battle of Tanagra in 457. * Pleistoanax, first son of Pausanias the regent, king between 459 and 409. He was exiled for 18 years for having allegedly taken a bribe from the Athenian
Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, wikt:Περικλῆς, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greeks, Greek politician and general during the Fifth-century Athens, Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athens, Athenian politi ...
, between 445 to 427. His son Pausanias reigned meanwhile. He returned to Sparta in 427 and reigned until his death in 409.White, "Some Agiad Dates", p. 141 * Cleomenes, second son of Pausanias the regent, regent himself of his nephew Pausanias when his brother Pleistoanax was in exile.Poralla & Bradford, ''Prosopographie'', p. 77. * Aristocles, third son of Pausanias the Regent. He helped his brother Pleistoanax to bribe the
Pythia Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythone ...
in order to secure his return from exile. He later fought in the battle of Mantinea in 418. * Pausanias, son of Pleistoanax, king for a first time during the exile of his father between 445 to 427. His reign resumed on the death of his father in 409, until 395 when he had to go into exile. He also wrote historical treaties during his exile. * Agesipolis I, first son of Pausanias, king from 395 to 380. As he was still a minor in 395, Aristodemus became his regent. He died in Chalkidice in the summer of 380. * Cleombrotus I, second son of Pausanias, king from 380 to 371. He died at the
battle of Leuctra The Battle of Leuctra ( grc-gre, Λεῦκτρα, ) was a battle fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebans, and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the vi ...
. * Aristodemus, regent for Agesipolis I in 395, he won the battle of Nemea in 394. *
Agesipolis II Agesipolis II ( grc-gre, Ἀγησίπολις Bʹ; died 369 BC), son of the king Cleombrotus I, succeeded his father and reigned as Agiad King of Sparta. His rule was exceedingly brief, from, at most, 371 until his death in 369 BC.Diodorus Sic ...
, first son of Cleombrotus I, king from 371 to 370. * Cleomenes II, second son of Cleombrotus I, king from 370 to 309. * Acrotatus, first son of Cleomenes II, died before his father. He notably fought the tyrant Agathocles in Sicily c.314.Bradford, ''Prosopography'', p. 22. * Cleonymus, second son of Cleomenes II, he might have contested the claim of his nephew Areus I in 309, but became his regent instead. He had a long career as general for Sparta and as mercenary, in Italy,
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...
, Corcyra,
Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...
, etc. After his wife Chilonis left him for Acrotatus (Areus' son) c.275, he went into exile in
Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
and fought against Sparta during Pyrrhus' invasion of the Peloponnese in 272. * Areus I, son of Acrotatus, king from 309 to c.265. He notably transformed Sparta into a Hellenistic kingdom, but died before the walls of
Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
during the Chremonidean War. * Acrotatus, son of Areus, king from c.265 to c.262. His affair with Chilonis triggered the defection of Cleonymus to Epirus. He died before
Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enou ...
at the end of the Chremonidean War c.262. * Chilonis, a woman of the Eurypontid dynasty, first betrothed to Cleonymus, she left him to marry the future king Acrotatus. * Areus II, son of Acrotatus and Chilonis, king from c.262 to 254. He was born after his father's death and died at 8 years old; his cousin Leonidas was his regent throughout his reign. * Leonidas II, son of Cleonymus, king from 254 to c.236, regent of Areus II before his accession. In his youth, he served in the court of
Seleucus I Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...
. He was forced into exile by the Eurypontid king
Agis IV Agis IV ( grc-gre, Ἄγις; c. 265 BC – 241 BC), the elder son of Eudamidas II, was the 25th king of the Eurypontid dynasty of Sparta. Posterity has reckoned him an idealistic but impractical monarch. Family background and accession Agi ...
between 243 and 241. * Cratesiclea, wife of Leonidas II. She married Megistonos after the death of Leonidas. She went into exile in Egypt with her son Cleomenes III and was killed there in 219. *
Cleombrotus II Cleombrotus II ( el, Κλεόμβροτος Β΄) was a Spartan king of the Agiad dynasty. He married into the royal family via the daughter of Leonidas II, Chilonis. Chilonis's mother was a Persian/Seleucid woman, and Cleombrotus II's wife was ...
, put on the throne by the Eurypontid Agis IV to replace Leonidas II forced into exile in 243–241, but in turn went into exile when Leonidas was restored. He was the son-in-law of Leonidas II, but his relationship with the other Agiads is uncertain. * Chilonis, daughter of Leonidas II, wife of Cleombrotus II. She followed her father into exile in 243, then her husband when he was in turn exiled in 241 *
Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...
, elder son of Leonidas II and Cratesiclea, king from c.236 to 222. He continued the social reforms of Agis IV, but was defeated by
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
at the battle of Selasia in 222, after which he went into exile in Egypt. He unsuccessfully tried a coup against Ptolemy IV in 219, then committed suicide. * Agiatis, wife of Cleomenes III, she had previously been married to Agis IV. She had one son from Agis ( Eudamidas III) and at least two sons from Cleomenes, who are unknown.Bradford, ''Prosopography'', p. 15. * Eucleidas, second son of Leonidas II and Cratesiclea, he was appointed as co-king by his elder brother Cleomenes III in the place of the Eurypontid Archidamus V. He reigned between 227 and 222, when he died in the battle of Sellasia.Powell (ed.), ''Companion to Sparta'', p. 375. * Agesipolis, son of Cleombrotus II and Chilonis. * Cleomenes, son of Cleombrotus II and Chilonis. He was regent for his nephew Agesipolis III in 219. * Agesipolis III, son of Agesipolis, grandson of Cleombrotus II, king in 219 at the death of Cleomenes III, but dethroned by the Eurypontid Lycurgus in 215. He was sent as envoy to Rome c.184, but killed by pirates on the way.Bradford, ''Prosopography'', pp. 12, 13.


Family tree


Agiad


References


Bibliography

* David Asheri, Alan Lloyd, Aldo Corcella, ''A Commentary on Herodotus, Books 1–4'', Oxford University Press, 2007. * John Boardman, I. E. S. Edwards,
N. G. L. Hammond Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, (15 November 1907 – 24 March 2001) was a British historian, geographer, classicist and an operative for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in occupied Greece during the Second World War. Hamm ...
, L. Sollberger, ''
The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...
, vol. III, part 1, The Prehistory of the Balkans; and the Middle East and the Aegean world, tenth to eighth centuries B.C.'', Cambridge University Press, 1982. * W. den Boer, "Political Propaganda in Greek Chronology", ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Bd. 5, H. 2 (Jun., 1956), pp. 162–177. * Alfred S. Bradford, ''A Prosopography of Lacedaemonians from the Death of Alexander the Great, 323 B. C., to the Sack of Sparta by Alaric, A. D. 396'', Munich, Beck, 1977. * John Briscoe, ''A Commentary on Livy: Books 34 - 37'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1981. *
Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...
, ''Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta'', Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. * ——, ''Sparta and Lakonia, A Regional History 1300–362 BC'', London, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1979). * —— & Antony Spawforth, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, A tale of two cities'', London and New York, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1989). * W. G. Forrest, ''A History of Sparta'', New York, Norton, 1986. * Robin Hard, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', London/New York, Routledge, 2004. * G. L. Huxley,
Problems in the "Chronography" of Eusebius
, ''Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature'', 1982, Vol. 82C, pp. 183–196. * E. I. McQueen,
The Eurypontid House in Hellenistic Sparta
, ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Bd. 39, H. 2 (1990), pp. 163–181. * Victor Parker, "Some Dates In Early Spartan History", ''Klio'', 75, 1993, pp. 45–60. * Paul Poralla & Alfred S. Bradford, ''Prosopographie der Lakedaimonier, bis auf die Zeit Alexanders des Grossen'', Chicago, 1985 (originally published in 1913). * Anton Powell (editor), ''A Companion to Sparta'', Hoboken, Wiley, 2018. {{ISBN, 978-1-4051-8869-2 * M. L. West,
Alcmanica
, ''The Classical Quarterly'', Vol. 15, No. 2 (Nov., 1965), pp. 188–202. * Mary E. White,
Some Agiad Dates: Pausanias and His Sons
, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 84 (1964), pp. 140–152.